1. Field of Art
This description generally relates to surgical robotics, and particularly to lithotomy devices and procedures using a surgical robotics system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Every year, doctors perform thousands of procedures to remove urinary stones from patients' urinary tracts. Urinary stones may include kidney stones found in the kidneys and ureters as well as bladder stones found in the bladder. Such urinary stones form as a result of concentrated minerals and cause significant abdominal pain once they reach a size sufficient to impede urine flow through the ureter or urethra. Such stones may formed from calcium, magnesium, ammonia, ur acid, cysteine, or other compounds.
To remove urinary stones from the bladder and ureter, surgeons use a ureteroscope inserted into the urinary tract through the urethra. Typically, a ureteroscope includes an endoscope at its distal end to enable visualization of the urinary tract. The ureteroscope also includes a lithotomy mechanism to capture or break apart urinary stones. During the ureteroscopy procedure, one physician controls the position of the ureteroscope and the other surgeon controls the lithotomy mechanism. The controls of the ureteroscope are located on a proximal handle of the ureteroscope and accordingly are difficult to grasp as the orientation of the ureteroscope changes. Accordingly, present ureteroscopy techniques are labor intensive and reliant on ureteroscopes with non-ergonomic designs.
To remove large kidney stones from the kidneys, surgeons use a percutaneous nephrolithotomy technique that includes inserting a nephroscope through the skin to break up and remove the kidney stone. However, present techniques for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (“PCNL”) include using fluoroscopy to locate the kidney stone and to ensure accurate insertion of the nephroscope. Fluoroscopy increases the cost of the nephrolithotomy procedure due to the cost of the fluoroscope itself as well as the cost of a technician to operate the fluoroscope. Fluoroscopy also exposes the patient to radiation for a prolonged period of time. Even with fluoroscopy, accurately making a percutaneous incision to access the kidney stone is difficult and imprecise. Additionally, present nephrolithotomy techniques typically involve a two-day or three-day inpatient stay. In sum, present nephrolithotomy techniques are costly and problematic for patients.